EGG hatches in Manila

Help is at hand for fashionable Philippine mothers-to-be
with the opening of two stores in Manila by New
Zealand-based maternity clothing business EGG.

EGG’s
first Manila store opened its doors in the prestigious
Glorietta Ayala Mall this week sharing prime retail space
with luxury brands including Louis Vuitton, Armani and
Versace.

A second EGG franchise store is due to
open in April in Manila’s Mall of Asia. The company already
has six franchise stores operating in Australia with several
more planned.

EGG owners Colyn Devereux-Kaye and
Charlotte Devereux say it’s a first for women in Manila who
until now have not had easy access to stylish and
comfortable maternity clothing.

For the Manila
stores, designer Charlotte Devereux has selected clothing
with both the climate and the shape of the locals in mind.
She says the stock comprises garments suitable for layering,
taking into consideration the hot climate and below average
air-conditioned building interiors.

“For Manila we
have selected garments with gorgeous detailing and our
sizing takes into account the smaller Asian frame.

“Fabric colours are lighter and more breezy and we are
appealing to the Asian market’s preference for gorgeous
detailing. Our collections feature designs suitable for the
office, for everyday wear right through to evening clothes,”
Charlotte says.

Sending New Zealand-made clothing to
the Philippines is a small victory in the ongoing
competition with a flood of cheaper Asian garments entering
the market here.

“Large volumes of Asian-produced
clothing come into New Zealand so it’s great we’re producing
quality garments that are going the other way,” Colyn says.
“We will have exported around 30,000 garments by the close
of this financial year.”

The pair enlisted a leading
Manila business woman to secure the retail space and to
operate the franchise business.

“Competition for
retail space in Manila is fierce and there’s a complex
application process to go through before you get accepted,”
Colyn says. “It’s a real coup to get the EGG brand into the
Glorietta Ayala Mall and we’ve certainly learned the benefit
of having local contacts.

“Manila has wonderful
shopping and the women are incredibly stylish so it was not
a difficult decision to open a franchise in the city. We
believe the market in Manila for our maternity clothing is
about the same size as the entire New Zealand population so
we’re very excited to be here.”

Media interest in
the Philippines has been keen with Colyn and Charlotte doing
20 media interviews in one day when they were in Manila in
January setting up the deal.

EGG was founded in 2001
in Auckland, New Zealand by Colyn and her daughter Charlotte
who, pregnant with her first child, could not find any
stylish maternity wear. The two recognised a business
opportunity and founded EGG.

Little more than four
years later the business has 12 stores in New Zealand and
six in Australia. The Manila stores are the first in Asia
and the business-women have their export eyes set on markets
further afield in the region.

ends

Issued
for EGG by Pead PR

About EGGThe EGG philosophy
is to provide expectant women with stylish and comfortable
maternity wear that takes them all the way through their
pregnancy – and beyond.

In 2004, EGG was rated
seventh in the Deloittes Fast 50 which lists the fastest
growing companies in New
Zealand.

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